1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to cove base, also referred to as wall base, rubber/vinyl base, vinyl mop base, and top set within the classification of wall coverings in the flooring industry. Specifically to the installation and repairs and of cove base at intersecting corners.
2. Prior Art
Installing cove base at intersecting corners can be very difficult and time-consuming. Even the professional can dread the procedure of installing cove base after installing the floor covering. In the flooring industry coving was introduced during the period when linoleum based flooring was being predominately used as a hard surface floor covering. Today the primary substitute is vinyl based resilient floor covering. The term coving is used to describe flooring extending from the floor at the edges and traversing up the wall in one continuous piece of material. At the apex where the floor and wall converge, the material is curved creating the cove. It is my understanding that coving was introduced to circumvent decomposition and dilapidations caused by excessive mopping. Coving is very difficult to install and requires a well-trained professional as well as being very expensive. Inside and outside corners are very difficult to implement. Outside corners especially, in that a piece of material has to be added on one side or the other where a void is left from the cut out created by the material extending up the opposite and separate side wall. Cove base was introduced later to provide a less expensive and more manageable process to achieve the transition from floor to wall while asserting the same functionality as coving. Nevertheless inside and outside corners can still be particularly troublesome and difficult to establish.
The most common and widely used method currently being utilized for installing cove base around outside corners is to wrap them. This process can be very frustrating and time-consuming taking many steps to accomplish the task. This most often results with an undesirable appearance, being that the bottom cove portion collapses into itself. If not, the pressure produced usually stresses the bottom contour to point of eventually splitting creating a gap in an open reverse V form. One of the steps in the procedure is reducing the material in the back, a must, at the bend so it will conform around the corner. This is done by gouging out the back side or by bending the material back side up and carving material out in order to create a groove. If to much material is taken out, a hole is created on the front side, so consequently you must start over with a new piece and quite possibly the piece you have damaged may have to be discarded. Reducing material from the back is imperative and invariably reduces the integrity at the corners vertex. Another particular disadvantage and frustrating aspect of wrapping, is the pressure that is created at the top portion of the base from the vertex and for the most part, it routinely pops away at the top edge from the wall on one side or the other, if not on both sides.
Inside corners are usually less troublesome. Nevertheless, they also have their quirks, such as a wall that is out of plumb and the choice is cutting to the corner rather than bending through it, the cut most likely will have to be done at an angle. Caulking is also generally used for filling in voids which create color match problems and eventually attracts dirt. Outside corners as well, share this anomaly. When bending through to accomplish installation at an inside corner, generally a slight slice is made on the back side and the bottom cove is cut out at about a 45 degree angle creating a reverse V notch. Unless starting a run of base is at the inside corner, precise measurement is imperative.
Between the extra labor incurred and possible other complications associated with facilitating installations at intersecting corners, a better method has been sought. Several types of inventions have been created to address some of these problems. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,296 (1994) to Stroller, Cove base cutter guide and U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,459 to Brown, Corner making tool. These tools address the collapsing of the cove portion as well as the popping out at the top edge. These are still time-consuming and the installer must be very precise. Adjoining the mitered edges to align perfectly together is another problem in and of itself. The joint edge of the miter, being of two separate pieces, does not have the same structural integrity that my invention provides. Also my invention can easily repair a damaged corner installed using this
In accordance with the present invention, each of the Cove base corner covers comprises an integrally formed cover for an external corner of Cove base with an elongated midsection defining a pair of generally flat perpendicular faces intersecting to thereby form an external vertex and a hollow interior that may be placed over an intermediate portion of cove base at internal and external corners. The corners also having a respective concave face extending downwardly and forwardly from each miter method. Another type of invention that has been created to address one of these problems is U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,207 (2002) for Barry & Morrison, Vinyl base wall clamp. This apparatus is used for applying pressure at the side of the vertex until the adhesive has set precluding the corner edges from popping away from the wall. Again this is not only time-consuming, it does not address the problem of the lower portion cove collapsing into itself. In actuality, the most common method adapted is to used a brad nail to hold the material in place, yet using this method usually leaves an indentation or even a hole. For the most part, only the professional floor installer would have one of these cove base tools if in fact they were even aware of their existence, let alone know where to acquire them. My invention addresses these situations with a more simplistic productive procedure and resolve.
For many commercial applications 6″ cove base is often used and is very often mandated especially for use in restaurants, medical buildings and numerous other businesses which are overseen by the health department. 6″ cove base is extremely difficult to wrap or miter. Inconsistencies and variations of the walls increase with the height and take a great deal more effort as well as time to accomplish navigating around, into or from intersecting corners. The attributes of my invention become even more evident in these such situations. Cracked corners and splits creating a void at the bottom seem to be more apparent with cove base having higher stature than those of their shorter counterparts.
Other prior art of possible relevance is U.S. Pat. No. 2,307,338 to Shiyter et al. (1943) Base fitting for interior walls. This invention, though it is similar in appearance and share some of the objectives, such as the collapsing of the cove element and popping from the vertex edge, is still inferior to my invention for numerous reasons. This invention requires that it be placed directly on the wall and attached with tabs extending from it, with holes for fastening at the lower portion, along with recessed lugs installed prior to the fitting in order to snap fitting permanently in place. This requires time and effort especially if the wall itself requires preparation for fastening along with the installation of the fastening system. The cove base requires precise fitting in order to be adjoined to the base fitting. With the Cove base corner cover precise cuts are not required, extensive preparatory work for fastening also is not required nor does it have the additional use to perform repairs of cracked and damaged corners. My invention is simply placed over the cove base and not directly on the wall without any special consideration.
Another prior art of possible relevance is U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,237 to Juntunen (1991) Miterless molding system. This invention is similar to my invention in that it is a decorative receptacle covering intersections providing the appearance of a finished joint between the adjacent rough cut ends. Aside from its completely different appearance, its use is for carpentry related molding such as crown, chair and base molding, not that of cove base wall coverings.
Other prior art of a pre-molded outside corner is manufactured by a manufacturer of cove base. The design is different in that the bottom portion cove is completely round at the bottom and the face extends a few inches away from the vertex. The product attaches to the wall as well as the form of the back side precludes it from being placed over the cove base itself. Once again precision is needed to adjoin the cove base it is being installed along with as well as requiring a perfect color match. These are very expensive and are not as simple in their use.